Pharma Ethics, My Foot!

"Merck & Co. Inc. won its eighth case related to the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx (rofecoxib), which was taken off the market in September 2004. In Los Angeles, a state court jury found that Vioxx could not be blamed for a 2001 myocardial infarction that occurred in a California man who had taken the drug intermittently since 1999. Merck produced evidence showing that the man had atherosclerosis and a family history of cardiac problems." This was just reported in the medical media. Of course you won't hear it on CNN, MSNBC or the major networks. The Vioxx case is sad in the fact that many of the men who had fatal heart problems were on multiple meds for many underlying cardiac conditions and that there was no deliberate effort by Merck to "hide" negative data about Vioxx. With the huge liability issues facing the pharmaceutical industry, it is a wonder that any new drugs are developed! Vioxx was a helpful drug that a lot of arthritis patients used for their inflammation and subsequent pain, that no longer is available.